The latest feature from Rebekah McKendry is an all-out gore fest.
Glorious was one of the most buzzed-about films at the Fantasia Film Festival last month. Directed by filmmaker, genre journalist, and celebrated podcast host Rebekah McKendry (All The Creatures Were Stirring, co-writer of the upcoming Bring It On: Cheer or Die), the modern-day Lovecraftian horror film stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons (Night Sky). Following its Fantasia premiere on July 21, the film will be released exclusively on Shudder on August 18, 2022.
McKendry began her film career producing heavy metal music videos for Nuclear Blast and Metal Blade and went on to direct many award-winning short films and multiple horror features. She has a doctorate in Media Studies focused on the Horror Genre, a MA in Film Studies, and a second MA in Performing Arts Education. Rebekah previously worked as the Executive Editor-in-Chief at Blumhouse Productions and as the Director of Marketing for Fangoria Entertainment. She is a co-host of Blumhouse’s award-winning Shock Waves Podcast and co-host of Fangoria’s Colors of the Dark Podcast.
Spiraling out after a bad breakup, Wes (Kwanten) ends up at a remote rest stop miles away from civilization. His situation worsens after he finds himself locked inside the bathroom with a mysterious figure (Simmons) speaking to him from an adjacent stall. As Wes tries to escape, he finds himself an unwilling player in a situation bigger and more terrible than he could possibly imagine…
With the majority of the film taking place in a rest-stop bathroom, Glorious is an intimate indie horror feature full of twists and unimaginable turns that boasts one of the most jaw-dropping roles of Simmons’ career. Psychedelic, comedic, overwhelmingly messy, and surprisingly emotionally, the film has all the makings of a future cult hit.
“Glorious speaks to my adoration of Lovecraft, gore, absurdist humor, philosophy, and the type of transgressive movies that leave you thinking I can’t believe I just saw that,” says McKendry. “It is a wild mix of horror, humor, and heady moralistic concepts about our own existential realizations of who we really are, forcing each of us to stare into our personal abyss. And sometimes, the abyss stares back… and maybe has a favor to ask.”
Written by Todd Rigney, Joshua Hull, and David Ian McKendry, AMP International’s Bob Portal and Inderpal Singh serve as producers along with Joe Wicker and Morgan Peter Brown from Fallback Plan Productions, Jason Scott Goldberg, and Christian Armogida.